After he selected six SEC players in the 2026 NFL Draft, Colts general manager Chris Ballard said that playing in that conference is the closest thing to playing in the NFL.
Spending time in one of the nation's top conferences doesn't mean the adjustment to the pros is easy on any rookie, even one who started in the SEC's second-ranked defense. And linebacker CJ Allen didn't just play; he was the green dot guy in Kirby Smart's defense.
When the Colts scouted Allen, linebacker coach James Bettcher could see how his teammates responded to him while he commanded the Dawgs' defense.
"You heard everyone that watched him on tape say that he's the first guy to communicate," Bettcher said Wednesday. "He's the first guy making adjustments, whether it's a coverage check or slide in the front."
It's also hard to miss Allen's knowledge of the game. Bettcher said he's the same on tape as he is in person.
"It's high intelligence questions," he said. "The foundation of his play is his football intelligence and his work ethic."
While work ethic can be tricky to see visually, the people around Allen in Athens spoke highly of who he is off the field.
"The first thing (people at Georgia) would rave about is the character of the man and the way he works," he said. "One of our core values we have in our culture in the word 'relentless' and CJ epitomizes that."
